Diana, Princess of Wales, 1961-1997: The BBC Recording of the Funeral Service
List Price:
Our Price: $15.97
You Save: $2.01 (11%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.19 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Edition: Music CDAudio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 1997-09-30
Music Label: Polygram Records
Soundtracks:
- Introduction/Prelude
- National Anthem
- Funeral Sentences
- Bidding
- I Vow to Thee, My Country
- Reading by Lady Sarah McCorquodale
- Requiem: Libera Me
- Reading by Lady Jane Fellowes
- King of Love My Shepherd Is
- Reading by the Right Honourable Tony Blair MP - Tony Blair
- Candle in the Wind - Elton John
- Tribute
- Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
- Prayers
- Country Derry: Air
- Lord's Prayer
- Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
- Commendation
- Alleluia: May Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest
Free Music Notes for Diana, Princess of Wales, 1961-1997: The BBC Recording of the Funeral Service
Free Music Review: "The Extraordinary And Irreplaceable Diana"
Hit: 4 Stars
Why there has never been a BBC-produced DVD of Diana, Princess of Wales' 1997 state funeral at Westminster Abbey remains a mystery. Surely that was one of the most watched events in television history. Did the families' wishes or the muddy circumstances surrounding Diana's untimely death influence that decision? We'll probably never know. But the Beeb did release an excellent recording of the service that remains one of the most moving and memorable event in recent memory. I feel lucky to have the CD and its accompanying text booklet; both are now hard to find in good condition.
The recording includes the somber tolling bell that marked the beginning of the service; the running engines and closing doors of the motor vehicle that transported the princess's body; the shuffling feet of the escorts that accompanied her cortege in and out of the cathedral; the applause that followed The Earl Spencer's courageous tribute (I clapped myself at home); and the magnificent Westminster pealing bells that rang out as the princess was taken away for burial at Althorpe.
IMO the most memorable moments of this recorded service are:
-- Verdi's Libera me, Domine, de morte eternal, movingly sung by soprano Lynne Dawson and the BBC Singers;
-- PM Tony Blair's sensitive reading of Paul I Corinthians 13, the saint's letter about love;
-- Elton John performing Candle In The Wind (Goodbye English Rose), a revision of his own song about Marilyn Monroe. The actress's worldwide fame, troubled personal life and tragic early death were mirrored by Diana;
-- the aforementioned tribute to the princess delivered by her brother. The Earl Spencer bravely voiced what we all felt about the Royal Family's treatment of Diana, the cuckolded ex-wife and loving mother of two future British monarchs, and about the paparazzi that literally chased her to death;
-- the highly unusual series of personal prayers composed and read by the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury;
-- the rousing rendition of Cwm Rhondda, the beloved Welsh Rugby Union anthem; and
-- John Tavener's stunning Song For Athena, sung a capella by the choir as the princess's body was escorted from the Abbey. The haunting Byzantine-style hymn with its Shakespearean-Greek Orthodox text raised the hair on my neck; it still does.
In summary, this now-rare CD captures the remarkable funeral service for "the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana whose beauty, internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds." We should all be so fondly remembered.
Classical Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in RIP: Diana, Princess of Wales (July 1, 1961-August 31, 1997)
After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsorby Christopher Andersen
Hyperion; Published: 2007-06-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Conspiracy? Princess Diana (History Channel)Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $40.00
Suffering into Joy: What Mother Theresa Teaches About True Joyby Eileen Egan
Servant Publications; Published: 1994-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.99
The Downing Street Yearsby Margaret Thatcher
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Published: 1995-03-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $572.04
Eastenders - Slaters in DetentionWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-03-01; DVD
Best price: $7.33
Price in other shops:
Diana Princess of Wales TributeSony; Release date: 1997-12-02; Music CD
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops:
In Loving Memory of Diana Princess of Walesby Elton John
Published: 1997; Music CD
Best price: $8.00
Diana, Princess of Wales, 1961-1997: The BBC Recording of the Funeral ServiceRelease date: 1997-09-30; Music CD
Best price: $15.97
Price in other shops:
ABC News Classics The Death of Princess DianaRelease date: 2007-05-24; DVD
Best price: $19.95
Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Wordsby Andrew Morton
Pocket; Published: 1998-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
The QueenBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $3.77
Price in other shops:
Elton John - Something About the Way You Look TonightRelease date: 1997-09-27; Music CD
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Princess Diana - Diana: Last Days of a PrincessGenius; Release date: 2009-09-15; DVD
Best price: $2.29
Price in other shops:
Princess Diana (DK Biography)by none
DK CHILDREN; Published: 2006-02-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops:
Sarah Brightman - SurrenderRelease date: 1995-10-30; Published: 1995; Music CD
Best price: $6.86
Price in other shops:
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil: Music From And Inspired By The Motion PictureWarner Brothers; Release date: 1997-11-18; Music CD
Best price: $5.88
Price in other shops:
Diana Princess of Wales TributeSony; Release date: 1997-12-02; Music CD
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
ABC News Classics Royal Wedding: Prince Charles and Lady DianaRelease date: 2007-05-24; DVD
Best price: $19.95
Tavener: Song for Athene / SvyatiRelease date: 2001-02-20; Music CD
Best price: $3.76
Price in other shops:
ABC News Classics The Death of Princess DianaRelease date: 2007-05-24; DVD
Best price: $19.95